10 No-Joke Career Questions

1. What do you want to do? 
2. Why that? 
3. Do you have the skill, knowledge, and psycho-emotional makeup for that career? 
4. What evidence proves you have "the goods"?
5. Can your skill and knowledge be objectively measured, or is it based on others' opinions?
6. What market demand matches your skill, knowledge, and psycho-emotional makeup? 
7. Are you willing to serve that demand? 
8. What else do you need besides skill, knowledge and a certain makeup? 
9. Is there an under-served market or untapped niche that you can prove exists? 
10. Are you willing to be a businessperson and serve that market or niche?

64 Variables By Which Prospective Employers Judge You

Prospective employers will judge you by:

1. Whether you follow submission instructions.
2. Your position in the applicant pile.
3. How you compare to the other applicants.
4. Whether you text, e-mail, call, or show up.
5. How many times you text, e-mail, call, show up.
6. Your phone number's area code.
7. Your voice mail message.
8. How you answer the phone.
9. Your e-mail address.
10. Your e-mail subject heading.
11. Where you live.
12. Your grammar.
13. Whether your query contains a greeting.
14. The kind of greeting your query contains.
15. The length of your query.
16. Whether you're on time for the interview.
17. Your age.
18. Your race.
19. Your gender.
20. Your attractiveness.
21. Your weight.
22. Your tone of voice.
23. Your accent.
24. How you found out about the job.
25. What you communicate.
26. How you word what you communicate.
27. Your body language.
28. Your eye contact.
29. What you wear.
30. Your rate of speech.
31. The length of pauses before you answer.
32. How eager you seem to be.
33. The length of your responses to their questions.
34. Whether you ask questions.
35. The quality of the questions you ask.
36. How much you know about the company.
37. The reason you left your last job.
38. Whether you let them call your last job.
39. Whether you have a "last job."
40. The length of your resume.
41. The format of your resume.
42. The readability of your resume.
43. Your experience.
44. Whether you can name-drop.
45. Whether you have employment gaps.
46. The duration of the gaps.
47. The number of gaps.
48. The name of your college.
49. The name of your degree.
50. The type of degree you have.
51. Your GPA.
52. How long ago you graduated.
53. How much money you want.
54. When you bring up the salary.
55. Whether you follow-up with a thank-you note.
56. How much debt you have (credit check).
57. Your criminal record.
58. How badly you need the job.
59. Your social media posts.
60. Your social media photos.
61. Your social media handles.
62. Your social media connections.
63. Whether you have social media accounts.
64. The mood they're in.

Any one of these variables can cost you a job.